The 2022 Gigondas from Domaine Raspail-Ay exhales a deep, complex bouquet of ripe cherries, flowers, dark wild berries and peonies mingled with gentle, oaky notes. Medium to full-bodied, dense and concentrated, it has a fleshy... Read More

More garrigue, Provençal herbs, pepper, and ripe framboise and cherry notes all emerge from the 2021 Châteauneuf Du Pape Vieilles Vignes, another beautiful 2021 from this estate that has a gorgeous sense of purity... Read More

More closed, yet still loaded with potential, the 2017 Châteauneuf Du Pape La Reserve offers a tight, reserved bouquet of cassis and blackberry fruits intermixed with ample spice box, mineral, and meaty notes developing... Read More

The 2022 Châteauneuf Du Pape La Réserve (60% Grenache and 40% Mourvèdre) is deeper ruby-hued and boasts a gorgeous nose of ripe black raspberries, smoked garrigue, spring flowers, and graphite. It plays in... Read More

In contrast to the bigger, richer Deus-Ex Machina, the 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape La Combe Des Fous is all about finesse and elegance, probably due to the inclusion of Cinsault and Vaccarese in the blend. Deeper ruby/purple-hued,... Read More

No Renaissance was produced in this vintage. Reminding me of the 2017, the 2022 Cornas reveals gorgeous red and black fruits, violets, bouquet garni, and gamey, iron-like nuances. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has fine... Read More

Black fruit coulis, intense spice aromas and some smoke on the nose. Powerful and robust in the best possible way, the tannins are remarkably polished for a Rhone red with stacks of mourvedre in it. Very compact core, but also... Read More

I was able to taste three wines from Domaine Santa Duc. Starting with the 2020 Gigondas Aux Lieux-Dits, which spent 18 months in 36-hectoliter Stockinger foudres, it has a floral, elegant, medium-bodied profile as well as lots... Read More

One of my favorite wines at this address, the 2022 Les Hauts-Lieux, derives from vines planted on a cooler, higher elevation on calcareous soils. These grapes, including more Mourvèdre (20%), are picked 15 days later than... Read More

The red 2021 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Barberini actually sees less new oak than the white version (about 70% is aged in barrel). Leather, earth, spice, vanilla, black cherries and plums all appear on the nose, while the full-bodied... Read More

Fragrant strawberry, lavender, red cherry and licorice introduce the 2022 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Safres. Bottled in February 2024 and checking in at 15.12% alcohol, this medium-bodied red is the product of a co-fermentation... Read More

Very rich and spicy, with impressive concentration and stacks of fine, soft tannins on the full-bodied palate. There’s licorice and meaty intensity in the crescendo finish. A cuvee of 60% grenache, 20% syrah, 10% mourvedre... Read More

Rich black cherry and strawberry fruit, with impressive density and palate weight. The balance is good, with fur-coat tannins and admirable freshness. Yet again, this vintage turns out a wine seemingly far too good for the climatic... Read More

The flagship is the 2018 Châteauneuf Du Pape La Réserve and it’s an even split of Grenache and Mourvèdre that was all destemmed and was brought up mostly in demi-muids (there was a small part in larger,... Read More

A blend of 60% Grenache and 20% each Mourvèdre and Syrah, the 2022 Cotes du Rhone Villages Plan de Dieu Cuvee des Galets spent only eight months in concrete prior to bottling. Scents of sunbaked stones, dried herbes de... Read More

Isabel Ferrando and her daughter Guillemette own this biodynamic property in the Rhone Valley. This delicate wine is 90% Grenache with 5% Syrah and 5% Cinsault and is aged for 6 months in concrete. This is a super fresh and feminine... Read More

The 2021 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes is made from vines aged between 80 and 100 years. The 2021 Vieilles Vignes wafts from the glass with expressive aromas of redcurrant, red and black cherry, raspberry, strawberry,... Read More

One of the standouts in the vintage is the 2021 Châteauneuf Du Pape, a ripe, round, medium to full-bodied 2021 offering a beautiful array of black cherry and darker berry fruits, ample Provençal spice, and dried flower... Read More

A touch of stewed plum fruit, though quite reserved aromatically. There's some welcome body and fruit here, and the alcohol is relatively mild. Finishes dry and savory. Well balanced and very drinkable.

One of the world’s greatest expressions of Grenache year-in and year-out, the 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Vieilles Vignes is all varietal that was brought up in larger foudre. This cuvée comes from the Charbonnieres... Read More